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Subscribe to RSSA local horse trainer is facing felony charges after she allegedly sold as many as 120 horses to buyers for a Canadian slaughterhouse, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Harrisburg Bureau.
State police say that 24-year-old Chester County-native Kelsey Lefever -- a well-known horse trainer and former Devon Horse Show competitor -- promised owners she could find good homes for their horses when they could no longer race, according to the paper.
What she really found for these horses, was a quick death, police say.
For more, visit NBCPhiladelphia.com
They say Lefever was selling the horses she was in charge of finding homes for to contractors for a Canadian slaughterhouse. There, they would be butchered and sent overseas to be sold as food, the Inquirer reports.
Lefever admits to selling as many as 120 horses, according to the paper. Rescue groups that go to a weekly auction and purchase horses that might otherwise be sold for slaughter say Lefever was making about $300 a horse from the kill buyers.
A hearing is set for the beginning of February.
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This woman deserves to be sent to the kill box herself. Maybe one day we will realize slaughtering horses is NOT the answer. Overbreeding, back yard breeding, poor training and handling are all issues that cause horses to seek new homes or be discarded. A little education will go a long way in this country, on many levels and subjects. I hope justice is served in this case and she has to do jail time...
So you think the appropriate punishment for deceitful business practices is death?
We can assume you would advocate the death penalty for anyone who sells a cow, pig, chicken, etc. to slaughter, right?
I happen to live very close to all of this and have seen this individual several times at New Holland and around the county...Chester County, PA is a horse hub with a lot of good, well intentioned horse people. Kelsey has been doing this for quite some time from what I read and I am sure it is more than 120 horses she has been responsible for getting killed...She knows the ins and outs of the slaughter industry and was raised around it...The fact of the matter is - She DECEIVED these people! This is FRAUD! Period, end of story! There are a dozen reputable horse rescues in our area that could have re-homed these horses....the thing about this is...plain and simple...she got caught...someone who had the balls to push this issue and make it public knowledge! I for one am glad it's out and she will be forever blacklisted from our area...the shame of it is...she'll just find another place to relocate and do it again...she is probably laughing at everyone here that has the least bit affection for horses...and there will always be another bottom feeder ready to take her place...
Once said animal is sold or transferred to new owner its no longer your business, what happens to said animal. If you cared so much about the said animal then don't get rid of it.
If your not the previous owner of said animal or buying/taking animal then it too is none of your business. If you say yes it is, then please post address so I can come and see how you run thing and stick my noses into your business.... Since you cant keep your noses out of others.
And based on your "said" arguement throughout this thread...one must assume you are a friend/supporter of Kelsey's and an advocate and supporter of the slaughtering of horses...The horse were in her posession for a week and people were coming to look at them and adopt them...she wanted to get rid of them post haste and took them to New Holland...hardly the right amount of time for them to waste away in her back yard, where I have read were decomposing animals and other starving horses...
And my horses are nice and fat back yard horses...well kept and humanely treated...jack ass!
Leatherneck-- It is the business of the owners who placed their animals with her as to what she did with them, there was a contractual agreement and she did not keep her side of it. Ergo, fraud. Then there is the moral issue issue of reneging on an agreement.
It is also all of our business as to the account of fraud, that is why she will be tried in a court on criminal charges. It is also our business as to the moral fiber of our community and the treatment of animals.
I'll agree with you for 99% of what you said, raincheck. Where we will differe is that you state that it is also our business as to the treatment of animals. Frankly, it is none of my business whether or not you beat your dog or you send your horses to slaughter for dog food, cat food, etc. Animals are property. Should we jail people who knock holes in their walls on their own property and are destructive to their personal property? Your argument would be that this is the business of the community.
She said she would find good homes for them. As a Marine I think that you apprehend the significance of keeping your word.
Chester County Girl: Sorry but don't know the person or where, The horse were in her possession=her property=can due what ever she wants to do with them with in the law. There is no law saying said animals cant be sold out of country for food. Sorry happens all the time.
raincheck: So by your argument if i sell you my car and tell you that a condition of that sale is that you cant drive it when its raining or past 55 mph. Then you cant even after you control and own the vehicle. There was a contractual agreement really I have not read anywhere that there was a contract except that this person would find the horse(S) a home. Well she did its just not the type of home that most would want. Sorry but once you sell or give your property to another it is no longer yours to say what can and cant happen to it.
Again if you care so much for said property/Animal find it a home yourself or dont sell and keep it........
leatherneck> You can keep cutting and pasting your opinions as long as you will but it is clear from the opinions of others on this thread that you are in the minority. Personally I think you just enjoy arguing for the sake of arguing.
You all wrong, it all tastes like chicken
I'm gonna say "drugs" - it's rampant in the horse show world. I'll bet she's totally got a coke habit from hell. Only explanation I can think of for a young person to do that to a species that was such an important part of their life.
whew, horse slaughter again. this came up a few months ago with the passing of those bills that allows slaughterhouses here in US. I just want to say, its all inhumane, the slaughtering and eating of animals..any animal. I dont eat meat. have no B12 deficiency and are healthy. I cant eat any kind of meat because I have seen the videos of the slaughter of the cow, pig, etc. u ever notice how cute a baby piglet is. they are just as smart as a dog or cat. I think that if more of us are exposed to animals, when we are also young and see that it has emotions, feelings, thoughts, that we would be less likely to kill and eat them. All we can do at the least, is when we can make donations to rescue organizations including horse ones; and maybe less of them will suffer this tragic fate.
That's great that you don't eat meat. That is your choice. If others choose to eat meat, why do you care? Their eating of meat in no way harms you.
This story made me sick. This woman has no conscience.
Their just horses get over it.
horses and man have worked together for centuries. Go see the movie, "War Horse". Your comment, "They are only horses" shows a lack of compassion.
If you saw a dog suffer for 72 hours and then die due to a cruel person, would you say, "It's only a dog"?????
"go see the movie war horse".....Alright you @!$%#ing loser, you immediately lost all credibility with me. Yeah I lack compassion for horses, because they're horses. Jesus Christ, They are NOT dogs, they're horses. They run around on a track, then get turned into a steak or glue. Why don't you go cry for all the cows or chickens who get killed why you're at it.
Don't Koreans and other Asians eat Dog meat. I have read stories that in some asians countries, I think it was Korea that would hang live Dog's on meat hook's in the market. Now that is cruel in my opinion.
it is cruel youre' right. but there's nothing we can do about them over there. they'll eat anything. sometimes, for some reason, a group will rescue a truckload that are headed for the dinnertable...just happened this week. I have that article. but, the everyday occurrence is that most of them are not rescued. or they skin them (alive) for the fur, and use for trim on coats, apparel. u ever notice how the fur on a jacket looks like german shepherd fur. that distinctive mix of coloring. it probably is. (unless it says faux fur) in label, please dont buy it.
Yes, there are things that can be done about it. I use my anger about things like this to work for change.
If change was not possible there would still be child labor and no proscecution for child abuse.
The quote goes something like, "All it takes for evil to subsist is for good people to do nothing."
Doesn't the humane society do basically the same thing? They say they will try to find a home for a pet, but if they can't, or sometimes just automatically, they will put the pet down. I believe there was a story a few weeks ago about humane society in arizona maybe that took in a pet and put it down after saying they would provide surgery only if the owner gave up the pet to be adopted by someone else..something along those lines.
This is an excellent analogy. I do wonder, though, if the Humane Society does state that they will keep the animal only so long before they kill it. That may be the difference in the argument...other than the Humane Society isn't selling the animals for profit, as far as we know.
The difference is the Humance Society euthanizes animals in a HUMANE manner.
Horses sent to the slaughterhouses face a frightful, horrible death.
There is a difference.
depends on the humane society .. if its a local one many have turned into no kill shelters or turn over dogs and cats who have been there for a long while to rescue groups and have a kill rate of less then 30%, with the exception of many shelters in the south which are high kill shelters due to the high amount of abandoned cats and dogs being found and brought in on a daily basis, over breeding and dog owners who refuse to spay/neuter their animals resulting in lots of unwanted puppies and kittens, in SC, hunters have been known to train a hunting dog for 3 years .. use it for 1 hunting season and then dump the dog off in a deserted area to fend for itself or take a female dog who keeps having puppies, into the woods and shoot her then take the puppies and dump them in the middle of a highway or toss them in a bag and throw it into a river or lake..
if you are talking about the USHS, they are a huge joke, and don't help any local humane society with any shelter costs .. check out HumaneWatch.org to get the facts .. all those sad, tearjerker commercials you see on TV, begging for donations, well its been documented and proven that the USHS donates less then 1% of all donation funds to any actual animal shelter while most donation funds line the pockets of the director and board members .... they rake in millions every year yet less then 8 cents a day goes to a shelter animal. Local humane societies have nothing to do with them at all and depend on state and local funds as well as donations to operate.
Someone, please murder this @!$%#...
Horses shipped to the slaughterhouses in Canada and Mexico face deplorable conditions.
They are crammed into large trucks without access to food or water. For several days they are kicked and bitten and trampled by other panicky horses. They are beaten by the demons who do this horrible act.
It is a cruel death that has no place in modern society.
Horses have been our partners for centuries. When it is time to put down a horse, there is a humane way of doing it.
I have no respect for ANYONE who would have any part in this horrible practice be it sending your own horse to slaughter or the buyers.
And I have NO RESPECT for bloggers here who support and excuse animal cruelty in any form.
She did use a deceptive business practice to make money and a lot of people do...try trading in a used car sometime.
The bigger issue so many people seem to be upset over is how what is nothing more than an animal to some people but a pet to others is being used for human consumption. I had a pig and a cow as a pet growing up but that never prevented them from being sold to the slaughter house to provide food for another person.
In some countries people eat dogs, goats, cats, monkeys, etc. but they also keep the same type of animal around for a pet.
Slaughter houses for horses are necessary, as there are too many horses out there starving to death as the owners cannot afford to feed them or take care of them. Just check Craigslist to see how many are for sale and cheap on there. Additionally, talk to the people on the high plains in Colorado, they will tell you people are dumping horses just hoping they will survive in the wild. One customer told me if I ever wanted any horses to just bring a trailer and people would gladly help fill it at no cost just to get rid of them.
Lastly a horse is an animal nothing more. It was designed to look pretty, function for transportation, to be bet on, and ultimately to be eaten by humans.
All life on this planet shares genetic ancestry. We even share similar DNA to Oak trees. This means that everything on this planet is our natural living relative. I have read many arguments here about the right to kill in order to survive - as if it meant some kind of unique superiority. The American Indians were on this continent for over 2000 years before it was invaded by Europeans who slaughtered more than one species into extinction. We have been here for 250+ years and look at what we've done with the place. De-sensitization to our connection to all life seems to have gone viral. Like it or not, all life is connected. If this disease, this inability to relate to and feel compassion for life that is not considered 'human' goes unchecked we will soon be facing our own extinction. The measure of how civilized a society is can be based on how it treats it's elderly, it's children and it's resources. Should animals be used for food? For now I believe so but I also believe that we should be grateful for the sustenance these animals provide and raise them and slaughter them in humane environments. Many of the comments I have read have saddened me. Some of these individuals will never experience the 'being' of an animal. I have had profound relationships with horses. They are some of the most honest, generous creatures I have ever known. If you are so dead inside that no animal has ever moved you or touched your heart ......if more people are like this than not....there is no hope for the human race.
This woman was vile and perpetrated a fraud for personal gain. On the subject of slaughtering horses for consumption, I am against it. Horses hold a higher stature in my eyes, as do my dogs. I don't own a horse now, because as some posters have pointed out, I live in Texas, not on a farm (yet), and can't afford it, so I don't. As for humane farming practices, there are vast differences between small scale farming and the commercial breeding and growing institutions. Huge differences on the way the animals are raised, treated, and yes, there is a certain barbarism involved in slaughtering livestock for consumption, but not the retched, stinking way it is done by big corporate farming, which actually doesn't really resemble farming at all, just a factory. If there are horses that no person can care for or want, then euthanization would be preferable to slaughter, especially since it is for foreign consumption. What a sad end to a treasured part of our national history to be fed to outsiders. I think that is the truly vile component of this all.
big deal!
People all over the world eat horsemeat
She was selling to Canadian dealers:
They still slaughter horses in Canada and BTW, they eat horsemeat all over Europe and many other places too.
Americans are so smug and think themselves somehow morally superior to the rest of the world.
In reality, it is OUR society that is morally bankrupt.
Just look at the children raped, killed, fraticides, politicians stealing from public funds, soldiers massacring civilians, soldiers raping other soldiers. schoolkids killing thier classmates.
The people on here saying she should die, etc are showing how truly ignorant and perverted THEY are.
The local DA needs to prosecute her vigorously and make sure she ends up behind bars.
She's despicable and disgusting - theft, deceit, breach of contract, avoiding US animal laws, and more. Jail her.
Did she pay taxes on the money she made from selling the horses? She is a fraud & a liar & she should be" horse whipped" until she can't stand up!! SHE IS DESPICABLE FOR BETRAYING THE PEOPLE'S TRUST
AMERICAN"S DON"T EAT HORSES!!!!!!! We live in a pitiful throw away society now! That means animals & PEOPLE TOO!! The thieving , crooked politicians & selfish , greedy, big businesses grow fatter & fatter off of the working middle class people of this country, & crime is running rampant now , WAKE UP PEOPLE & START DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!! NOW!!!!
"Americans don't eat horses"...it's real shame too. Ever had a horse steak? Best meat I have ever eaten, hands down.
Was it better than the 3 little pigs?
Send the lady to a slaughterhouse =D
So she sold horses for slaughter. USA kills BILLIONS of cows every year for meat. Why isn't anybody saying anything about that? What's the difference? NONE. You all are a bunch of freaking hypocrites - boohoo over horses, yet would care less about the cows.